Chapter 4 - The Custody Threat
The words hit me with the force of a physical blow to the chest.
“You are absolutely not taking my daughter anywhere!” I screamed, stepping firmly in front of Brooklyn.
Agent Miller did not flinch, completely unaffected by my furious reaction.
“The police are currently investigating an attempted homicide on this infant,” the CPS agent stated calmly.
“Until we can definitively prove who tampered with the machine, neither of your children are safe in your care.”
Kevin stepped forward, his fists clenched tightly at his sides in sheer anger.
“My wife didn't touch that machine, and we have the gold earring proving her sister was in this room!” Kevin yelled.
“An earring found on the floor does not prove who actually turned the dial,” Agent Miller replied dismissively.
“The anonymous caller provided highly detailed medical records proving your wife has a history of severe anxiety.”
I stared at the agent in absolute disbelief.
The only person who had access to my private medical records was my mother, who had kept them in her filing cabinet since I was a teenager.
My mother hadn't just planned to kill my premature baby in the middle of the night.
She had actively orchestrated a backup plan to steal Brooklyn away from me if the murder attempt failed.
She wanted to completely destroy my entire family and leave me entirely alone.
“You need a court order to remove my child from this room,” I challenged the agent, trying to keep my voice steady.
“I have an emergency removal order signed by a family court judge exactly ten minutes ago,” Agent Miller said, pulling a stamped document from her folder.
She handed the paper to the police officer, who read it and reluctantly nodded his head.
“Ma'am, you have to let her take the child,” the officer told me sympathetically.
“If you resist, I will be forced to arrest you for interfering with a state mandate.”
I looked down at Brooklyn, who was crying silently and clinging desperately to my leg.
I knelt down on the hard floor and grabbed her little shoulders, forcing myself not to completely break down.
“You are going to go with this lady for just a little while, okay?” I choked out, tears streaming down my face.
“I don't want to leave you and Rosalie,” Brooklyn sobbed, burying her face in my neck.
“Daddy and I are going to fix this, I promise you with my entire life,” I whispered into her hair.
Kevin kissed Brooklyn on the forehead, his own eyes shining with unshed tears.
Agent Miller gently took Brooklyn by the hand and led my terrified daughter out of the hospital room.
I stood up, feeling a cold, hollow emptiness spreading rapidly through my chest.
My mother had officially taken everything from me.
I looked at Kevin, and the sadness in his eyes had suddenly morphed into pure, unadulterated rage.
“I am going to the gender reveal party right now,” Kevin said, grabbing his car keys from the windowsill.
“Do not do anything stupid, Kevin,” I warned him, terrified of what he might do.
“I am going to get a full confession out of your mother in front of all her precious friends,” he promised.
He kissed me hard on the mouth and sprinted out of the room before I could stop him.
I sat back down next to the incubator, holding Rosalie’s tiny hand through the plastic portal, completely alone.
Five minutes later, my cell phone buzzed brightly on the table.
I grabbed it, expecting a text from Kevin saying he had reached the parking garage.
Instead, I had a new message from my sister, Courtney.
It was a picture of Brooklyn sitting in the backseat of a car, smiling happily and eating a piece of chocolate cake.
May you like
The caption underneath the picture made my blood run entirely cold.
“Thanks for sending her to the party. We always knew she belonged with us anyway.”
